


you must be my savior, free me from my yearning, darling

by WattStalf



Series: Commissions [256]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Blow Jobs, F/M, Grooming, Hand Jobs, Manipulation, Slow Burn, and then we go 90mph, commission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:47:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27647716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: Byleth has no way to define her feelings for Cyril, but from the start, she cares for him more than anyone else, and wants him to feel the same about her. She decides to teach him to read so that she can keep him close, but with her distrust of the church he is so devoted to, she wants to be able to keep him even closer.
Relationships: Cyril/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Commissions [256]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1325462
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set in Crimson Flower, this will earn the E rating eventually, love you Cyril

Cyril is a good kid, one that Byleth can’t help but notice even before the two of them are formerly introduced. He works very hard, much too hard for someone his age. She would place him at around the same age as some of her youngest students, but he is so serious about everything that he does, earnest and a loyal asset to the church. Byleth is interested in him from the start, wanting to get to know him better.

She is used to being on her own, so coming to the monastery has been a strange new experience for her. Getting to know people, getting to be close to people, and finding out that she has a talent for teaching are all strange to her, but now that she has made it this far, she finds it a lot easier to think about approaching someone, more confident in the fact that she can. It takes her no time at all, once she has been introduced to him, to ask Cyril to come join her class.

Cyril seems a little reluctant at first. He has a lot of chores, he says, so class might get in the way. When she tells him that Rhea gave her permission, that perks him up a little bit, but his face falls again. “I probably won’t be good for your class, though.”

“Why not? I’ve seen how hard you work at everything else, and you’ve helped us out with battles, as well. I would be honored to be able to teach you,” she says. “Oh, unless this has something to do with Shamir? I know you’re letting her mentor you, but there are different styles you can learn, so being in a classroom might help you.”

“Ah, no, it’s got nothin’ to do with that,” he says, but now he looks embarrassed, reluctant to say whatever is going to come out of his mouth next. Byleth tries to give him an encouraging smile that she hopes conveys that emotion, but it has always been hard for her to express her emotions on her face.

“I’ve never seen ya smile before,” he points out, and it seems to do the trick, working in her favor. Sighing, Cyril says, “You don’t just study weapons, you know? Truth is, I can’t…I can’t read or write or anything, so…I would just be out of place. I’d be real far behind everyone else.”

Her eyes widen at his confession. At his age, he never learned to read? Byleth can’t help but be a little surprised, because even her own father took the time to teach her how to read. Even with her mercenary upbringing, she still knows how to read and write, and rather well, at that. She can’t even begin to imagine the circumstances in Cyril’s life that may have led him to grow up without ever learning such skills, but then again, she is sheltered in her own way. Before she came here, she hardly knew where Almyra was, let alone the customs or the consequences that arose from the frequent conflicts with Fodlan.

Part of her wants to ask him more about his childhood on the spot, but she has learned a good deal about tact in her short time as a professor, and even she knows that this would not be an appropriate question to ask. Definitely not when she hardly knows him at all, but she does not want to let the conversation end here, or for Cyril to reject her suggestion completely.

“I try to focus on everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, in addition to the regular lesson plan,” she explains. “Nobody has to know that you can’t read, and you can do what you can to keep up in the other lessons. At the same time, we can work on that, outside of class. I can teach you anything you don’t know, and soon enough, you’ll be caught up. How does that sound?”

Cyril cocks his head, considering this. Byleth starts to get her hopes up, but then, he shakes his head. “Nah, I don’t want to bother ya. You’ve got a lot of work to do and so do I. Lady Rhea needs me to keep focused, so I don’t have a lot of free time.”

“You do have some free time, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but…my schedule is weird, so it’d just be a bother.” He seems so self-defeating, like he is already convinced there is no way they can get things to work. Byleth, on the other hand, is determined to do whatever she can to make sure that he does not give up. She doesn’t know why she has latched onto him so quickly, but the teacher in her wants to teach, and he seems like he wants to be taught.

“You don’t need to worry about that. You do so much, I think it’s time somebody did something for you,” Byleth insists, not sure where the words are coming from. She is so unused to speaking with people like this, to trying to convince someone to do something, but it is not nearly as difficult as she expected it to be. Cyril still looks uncertain, looking down at the ground with a serious expression on his face. “I really want to do this, Cyril. And I think it would be good for you, too. You could help out a lot more if you knew how to read.”

That does the trick. She’s thinking on her feet right now and had just come up with it, not knowing if it is true or not, but he nods and says, “Yeah, you do have a point there. I have a hard time with lists and things like that…”

“See? We can start there, once we’ve got the basics down,” Byleth says, and just like that, she has Cyril agreeing to join her class, and agreeing to take private lessons with her. She doesn’t know why this makes her so happy, but she can’t wait to get to know him.

~X~

“You’re doing great,” Byleth praises him again, and Cyril, despite himself, beams a bit. He is not so good at taking compliments from her, she has noticed. Because he feels like he is so far behind everyone else, he does not feel like he deserves praise for completing something that he should have learned a long time ago, but Byleth does what she can to put those worries to rest.

The two of them have been doing lessons for about two weeks now, fitting it into their busy schedules. He finds time, between his chores and classes and lessons with Shamir, and Byleth always makes sure that she is able to accommodate, no matter what the time may be. Often, he will come to her, so self-defeating as he claims there is no way she will be able to make the schedule work, and she will move things around to make it work, never letting him down.

Cyril is a quick study, as devoted to these lessons as he is to any other task that he takes on. He is learning his letters quickly, and can already spell his own name, and the names of most of his classmates and associates. No matter what he achieves, he tries not to act too proud of himself, but she can see it in his eyes, the look of pure pride as he spells out _Rhea_ for the first time.

As proud of him as she is, she feels oddly jealous that he did not brighten nearly as much when he learned to spell _her_ name.

But now that he has figured out basic letters and spelling, they split their lessons into two halves. For half of the lesson, she helps him read from simple books, and for the other half, he brings lists that he has not been able to read in the past, scrounged up from his room. That is how she finds out what he has been doing- he brings them to market, asks the merchants for help, by showing them the lists, and tries to read them later, when he has more context for what the words say.

This method has been rather slow, so he does a lot better with Byleth helping him, but she is impressed to learn that he has been trying so much by himself. Everything about Cyril impresses her, it seems. In class, she notices that he seems to really try his hand at the readings, even though she has told him that he can just pretend to read for the time being, and that they can get caught up on that stuff later. It is still a little too complex for him, but progress is progress.

“Here, why don’t you try reading this passage yourself?” she asks, and Cyril nods, his brow furrowing a bit in concentration. He is starting to move up a bit, practicing any time he has the chance, so that his reading level can increase. Though he has a lot of catching up to do, he seems intent on doing it as quickly as possible. Despite his hesitation to join her class, he is now determined to do everything just right.

His voice is clumsy as he struggles along the words, reading them aloud to Byleth, but he has nothing he needs to be corrected on, with good pronunciation. And she thinks that it is cute, the way he stumbles but never gives up, reading it through to the end. Cyril is incredibly cute, the more she thinks about it.

Whenever his lessons end, she makes sure to ask about how much he has been sleeping and eating. In the time she has spent getting to know him, it has not been hard to figure out that he will skip out on anything that might take up too much time, seeing his work as more essential than anything else. He claims that he always gets enough to eat because it is more than he ever had before his came here, but she still worries that he might skipping meals, and when he seems tired, she will cut their lesson short just to try and get him to go to bed.

He is independent- honestly, stubborn is the better word for that- but that just makes her want to take care of him that much more. Cyril brings out a side to her that she never realized she had. Turning out to be a good teacher is one thing, but realizing how much she wants to dote on one person in particular is something entirely different. Cyril acts like he is frustrated with her questions, but she hopes that, secretly, he is pleased to have someone care so much about him.

“Alright, you did a great job tonight. Make sure you get some sleep, and let me know after class when you can meet up again tomorrow,” she says, before sending him on his way. As she starts to get ready for bed, she brings a hand to her throat. Whenever she spends a long time with Cyril, her throat gets sore from talking more than she is used to. Even during her lectures, she does not strain herself this much, keeping things as simple and hands-on as possible, but during these lessons, she makes small talk in addition to teaching, something that she does not often do.

Cyril makes her feel different than anyone else, she knows that much. She has had a good time, getting to know her students and form bonds with them, bonds that are still developing right now, but none of them make her feel quite as fulfilled as talking to Cyril, even if it still feels like he has not quite let her in yet. She wants that to change, but she knows that she is never going to be his top priority, no matter how hard she tries.

Now, that is a strange thought to come upon her so suddenly.

Once it enters her mind, though, she can’t seem to get rid of it. She knows that Cyril prioritizes the archbishop over anyone else, and she supposes that she can’t blame him for that, considering how much Rhea has allegedly done for him. No one will ever come close to being that important to him, but Byleth knows that she is not even close to second place. That spot is occupied by Shamir, his first teacher, the one he owes his archery skill to. Byleth has been a good teacher to him as well, but she can’t help noticing that she is always working her lessons in to fit his schedule, to fit around the lessons Shamir plans, always set in stone.

She agreed to work around his schedule, so that really shouldn’t be a problem to her, yet it makes her feel a little jealous. And she reminds the way he painstakingly spelled out “Rhea” for the first time, and even the way he lit up as he wrote out “Shamir,” but her own name was written as casually as Edelgard’s, or Bernadetta’s- there was no excitement in it, even though she was standing right there.

Why does she care so much about who Cyril prefers? It is silly of her to be jealous when she has only known him for a short time, when he has known both Rhea and Shamir much longer, and both have definitely done more for him. At least, that is how the story goes, though if they’ve really done so much for him, then why has no one bothered to teach him to read yet? And why is he given chores that involve reading, when no one is taking the time to make sure he can understand the lists he is given?

Actually, the more she thinks about the situation with Rhea, the more it does not sit right with Byleth. She knows that Cyril _says_ he takes on all this work because he wants to do it, wants to be useful to the woman he owes his life to, and that he is not being forced into anything, but even so, considering his background, it seems a little off to her that Rhea lets it continue. She does not know all the details, but from what she has gathered, Cyril was briefly a Goneril slave before he was brought to serve the church.

He _says_ that he wants to do this work, but maybe that is just because doing work is all he knows. Maybe he just thinks this is the only way to repay Rhea, even though, if she really did something like that out of the goodness of her heart, then he should not need to pay her back at all. And if she really felt that way, then she should be able to convince him, shouldn’t she? He takes her word to be law, after all.

Cyril is clearly not the only one who needs to get some sleep. Byleth needs to shut these ridiculous thoughts off, before she gets ahead of herself. Her father has told her not to trust the church so easily, and not to let her guard down around Rhea, so that probably has her a little more guarded, but none of that has anything to do with Cyril.

When she wakes up in the morning, she will see just how silly all of this was.

~X~

Cyril continues his lessons, making great progress, and Byleth continues to worry about him, and continues to get jealous when she remembers that he has others he cares about more than her. It doesn’t seem like something that is going to blow over any time soon, meaning these feelings must be pretty serious. For someone who has very little experience with emotions like this, Byleth is at a loss.

All she knows is that she cares a lot about him, after the time that they have been spending together, and she wants to be important to him, wants to have him care about her. During her days off, she tries to catch him during his free time so that she can invite him to tea, something that she has tried with all of her students, as a method of getting closer to them. Once she starts with Cyril, though, he is the only one that she wants to invite, and if he has to decline because he is too busy, then she just gives up for the day, not bothering with anyone else.

Shamir tells her one day, “I appreciate what you’re doing for him.” When she notices the confused look on Byleth’s face, she continues, “Cyril has told me a little bit about it. He isn’t the best at showing it, but he seems pretty excited that you’ve been teaching him so much. Just don’t overwork him, alright?”

“I would never,” she replies, trying to overcome her shock at Shamir’s words. Could it be that Cyril really talks about her when they’re apart? Does he value their lessons that much? She knows that he hides his emotions, so maybe it should not be as big of a shock to her. “If anything, I usually have to beg him to get some rest.”

“He’s a hard worker, that’s for sure,” Shamir agrees, and for a moment, that jealousy starts to swell up within Byleth again, jealousy that she does her best to repress and keep her expression even. She has no right to be jealous over someone who clearly knows him better than she does- she just wishes that she could be the one who knows him best, the one that he shares everything with, more important to him than Shamir or Rhea or both combined…

“He’s a delight to teach,” is all that Byleth says. For now, she decides that she will just be happy that Cyril talks about her, and that he seems to really value their lessons.


	2. Chapter 2

It does not take long for Byleth to start obsessing over things, no matter how hard she may try to take her mind off of it. No matter what she is doing, there is always some part of her that is able to relate it back to Cyril, and once she has started thinking about him, then she can’t stop. She thinks about the determined expression on his face as he practices writing his letters, and she thinks about the way his voice sometimes wavers while he tries to read a new word, and she thinks about the way he looks while practicing his archery, and she is steadily starting to realize what is going on with her.

She has no experience with emotions, and certainly not emotions like this. Before now, concepts of romance were completely foreign to Byleth, and never even considered the fact that she might fall in love one day, not even long enough to wonder if someone like her is even capable of falling in love. But when she compares how she feels about Cyril now to the things that she has heard, to the way gossiping students have talked about matters of romance, she arrives at the same answer every time she questions herself.

She has fallen in love with Cyril.

He is a good deal younger than her- about seven years, she is pretty sure- and does not treat her with any more warmth than he does most people. Beyond all of that, she knows nothing about how to pursue a romantic relationship, and even if she thought that there was a chance he might return her feelings, she still would have no idea how to move things forward, or what to do if she were to get closer to him. As things are now, though, she doubts that he would ever look at her as anything more than one of his teachers.

Really, anyone would be lucky if he could stop looking at Rhea long enough to look at them. Once again, Byleth feels her jealousy flaring to life, but at least this time, she is starting to figure out how to place it. And even though she knows, or at least assumes, that he just feels admiration, maybe familial love, for Rhea, she can’t help that jealousy from growing more and more, because if she is capable of seeing how wonderful Cyril is, then surely Rhea is as well.

Even as she starts wondering about it, there is a part of her that knows how ridiculous it is, but she just can’t let the idea go. She has no idea how much older than her Rhea is, but when she thinks about Cyril, she does not think of him as a fourteen-year-old boy, but as a very strong and capable young man, one that works too hard for his own good, and one that deserves a better life than he has been given. It seems to her that age does not seem to matter much, so is it really that far fetched to think that the archbishop might feel the same way as her?

Rhea is certainly doing everything in her power to keep Cyril close, and has him convinced that he owes his life to her, that everything he does has to be for her benefit. Otherwise, why would he consider himself so lucky to be made to work as a servant for the church, when that is no better than the life she supposedly rescued him from? She must have done something to convince him of this, and the only motivation Byleth can think of for that is wanting to keep Cyril all to herself.

Which must mean that she understands how wonderful he is, and that he is worth keeping close. Maybe Byleth is completely justified in being jealous of her, because, when she thinks about it from this perspective, it seems pretty obvious that Rhea is trying to get Cyril to fall in love with her, so that she never has to share him with anyone else. He might not realize that, and might genuinely believe that his feelings of gratitude could naturally bloom into love, and that Rhea would have no ill intentions with him, but that is just because he has very little experience with such things.

Which is just something that he and Byleth have in common. Her own lack of experience is what helps her justify her own desire to keep her for herself. If she were to try and get close to him like that, it would only be with the best of intentions. Whatever Rhea has in mind for him, however Rhea wants to try and monopolize him, it can’t be anything good, whereas Byleth knows that she is not capable of anything that malicious.

With all of that in mind, she wonders if she should try and progress their relationship, even if she currently feels like it is all hopeless, and even if she has no idea what to do to even get that ball rolling. If it is for Cyril’s own good that he falls for someone who will truly value him, and treat him the way he deserves, then she owes it to him to try and win him over, to try and figure out where she should start.

Clearly, just seeing him for their reading lessons, and sometimes for tea, is not enough to make him see her any differently, but he is a busy boy, very hard to get a hold of. Spending extra time with him is probably not an option, but what else can she do? What has Rhea done, to work him over and make him idolize her so much? Was it really all from rescuing him, or has she been whispering something in his ear, making him think that their relationship was special?

Is that what Byleth has to do to win him back over? It sounds a lot easier said than done. If only there were some way to convince him of the fact that he is not being treated fairly by the church, and that his life under Rhea is not as perfect as he thinks that it is. If only there were some way to make him think that he needed to be rescued all over again, which really does not seem that far from the truth, not now that Byleth is thinking about it seriously.

Cyril is clearly being taken advantage of, but if he does not realize that, then he will not be receptive to someone on the outside telling him he needs help. The whispering in his ear, telling him how special he is and how special their relationship is definitely seems like the more promising option, but Byleth has never done anything like this, not in her life. She does not know the first thing about winning someone over, and has no idea how she would convince him that what she says is true.

The only thing she can think of is researching, which means that she needs to read about the art of romance. That is definitely not something she is going to find in the church library, considering the way Seteth handles the books there, but she thinks that she knows someone she can turn to. Bernadetta should have just what she needs…

~X~

For the most part, the books confuse her. Her own lack of experience shines through as she tries to understand why the things the characters do work, why they act the way they do, and why they react to situations the way they do. She knows that her own situation is different, that she never fell for Cyril because of any mind games that he played with her, and she knows that he never tried to get her to fall for him.

He is so innocent and so earnest that he would never try something like that. No, she knows that she fell for him because of how genuine he is, because she has had the opportunity to see to the heart of how good he is. When the two of them work together, she is reminded of how special, how wonderful he is, because he always tries his hardest, doing his best to rise above his circumstances.

Still, even if the books do not serve as a proper example of how she fell for him, she tries to look for hints of how she can make him fall for her. Just because she does not always feel the same way that the characters do doesn’t mean that their methods will not work. Obviously, novels would not be popular if they were not relatable to some degree, and even if Cyril is nothing like anyone else she has ever met, she knows that it is worth a shot, to see where it takes her.

~X~

Before she can start putting her moves on Cyril, someone else tries. She is a little surprised by it, but occasionally, people in the monastery will ask her to run errands for them, because they consider her to be so trustworthy. When it comes to love letters, she delivers them, even when she thinks that it is entirely hopeless, such as the girl trying to confess to Alois, or a young man trying his hand at seducing the archbishop herself. Byleth almost wishes that last one would work, so that she could get Rhea to forget all about Cyril.

But then a girl asks her to deliver a love letter to Cyril himself, and she is taken aback. Obviously, she is not the only one to notice how wonderful he is. After all, there is the whole issue with Rhea, and she has even started to suspect Shamir as well, but she never expected someone who lives here to simply notice him doing his work and take an interest in him. She never expected someone outside of the usual group he spends time with to fall for him, and to send a letter to him.

And she wants to laugh, wants to explain to them that it is hopeless, and she wishes that she had never taught him how to read, and then she gets an idea. The girl is excited that she agrees to deliver the letter, with Byleth promising to give it to him after dropping by her room. Cyril might not be able to read the whole letter, but he will be able to make out some of the key words, and Byleth doesn’t want that. She does not even want him to understand that there is someone out there interested in him, someone that he has never considered before.

She replaces it with a page from a book, ripped out, with a lot of complicated words, some of them in other languages, and she delivers it to him. Cyril is confused that he gets a letter at all, not a summons or a list of things to do, but a letter from someone he hardly knows. Byleth can’t help but feel a little smug as she watches him furrow his brow, struggling to read it, and pocket it.

He could have asked her for help, and she is a little hurt that he doesn’t, but none of that matters right now. All that matters is that, when she looks up, she can see that girl watching from a distance, waiting for his reaction. The discouraged look on her face tells Byleth all that she needs to know; she has properly convinced this girl that she does not stand a chance with Cyril, and at least managed to take down one rival.

Even if she feels powerless where Rhea and Shamir are concerned, she was able to do something today, and that is an important step. Up next is trying to win him over for herself, which she can only hope she is able to pull off, before he becomes even more popular.

~X~

Cyril does not take compliments very well. She has always known that, but she becomes more aware of it, the more she tries to use flattery. When he is sitting across the table from her, awkwardly sipping at his tea, still not used to these sorts of meetings, he always clams up when she tries to gush about how talented he is, or how impressed she is by his hard work.

“I just want to give credit where it’s due,” she assures him, and he nods, looking down for a bit, before looking back up at her.

“You’re different from when you first got here,” he says, taking her by surprise. Normally, he does not say things like that to her. Their conversations barely ever focus on her, and he has never commented so directly on anything to do with her.

“What do you mean?” she asks, curious to hear what he has to say to her.

“You talk a lot more for one thing,” he says. “I don’t mean anything by it, it’s just you were a lot quieter at first. You’re warmin’ up pretty well, huh?”

“I guess so,” she agrees, flattered that he noticed, even though he is far from the first person who has commented on that particular thing.

“Sorry if it sounds weird, it’s just…well, I remember when I first got here too. I’m still not all over the place like you are or anything like that, but I still warmed up to things a lot more. It’s a lot to get used to, if you’re used to somethin’ different,” he goes on to say. Byleth nods, not sure what to say, but really pleased with the fact that he is saying so much to her.

When he says things like that, it almost makes it feel like he has been looking out for her as well. She knows that she wants to be the on to look out for him, but she can bet that he has never said anything like that to Rhea or Shamir, so it must be a good start. And it gives her an opening for more flattery, which is still the only real tactic that she knows.

“That’s a mature thing to say. You know, Cyril,” she says, “you may be the youngest in your class, but you might be one of the more mature students that I have.”

“I don’t know about that,” he mumbles, ready to clam up again. “You’ve got Hubert, and Dorothea, and Edelgard…”

“Yes, but we also have Caspar,” she replies, and he gets a little bit of a laugh out of that, even though he tries to stifle it. “Besides, worldly knowledge does not always equal maturity, nor does book knowledge. It takes a bit of both, as well as a little something else. That part is hard to describe.”

She has no idea what she is talking about, but it sounds good when she says it, so she hopes that Cyril takes it all as the compliment that she intends. He does seem pleased by what she says, even if he tries to hide it like always. If she is going to win over someone so much younger than her, she needs to make sure that he isn’t intimidated by her, that he thinks of himself as more on her level. So she compliments his maturity, ready to tell him over and over again that he is wise beyond his years.

“I always look forward to our lessons,” she says a bit later, so that she can keep the conversation going. “You’ve been doing so well, and I love getting to watch your progress.”

“Yeah, but that sure doesn’t make me look more mature. Even Caspar knows how to read,” he mutters.

“Now, that’s not true at all. Like I said, book knowledge is only a part of things,” she corrects him. “Besides, you come from different circumstances, and you’ve made amazing strides in a short amount of time. For most people, it takes years to make the progress that you made in just a few weeks, because you work hard and are a lot more intelligent than you give yourself credit for.”

“Professor, ya don’t have to lay it on so thick…” he mumbles, clearly embarrassed. There is nothing cuter than a flustered Cyril, she realizes, and she leans forward on the table, resting her arms on it, so that she can rest her chest on top of her arms. This is a tactic that she read in some of those books, and she wonders how well it will work on him.

He is young, but he is definitely at the point when he should have started noticing girls in that way. Byleth always thought she would never grow into that phase of her life, but now here she is, getting hit by it all at once, completely head over heels for the boy across the table from her. She notices him flustering that much more, struggling to look at her, but at the same time, struggling to look away. Her top is cut low enough that she knows that there is plenty to look at.

But she knows better than to call him out on his sudden interest in her chest, or to ask him what he thinks of her. Pushing things will only scare him off, and she has already made a lot of progress just talking with him today. She wants to make him start thinking of her as more than just his professor, so that she can make him think of her as more important than anyone else in his life. The progress is slow going, but throughout each week, she takes her time to compliment and let him know how important she thinks he is, and slowly, she thinks she is starting to win him over.

At least, he is more nervous around her, and she can’t help but take that to be a good sign.


	3. Chapter 3

Cyril looks a little out of place at a party like this, but then, Byleth feels out of place. She has never been anywhere like this before, and despite the students’ attempts to make her feel more welcome at the ball, she is definitely a wallflower, which is how she ends up spending most of the night watching Cyril. He is dressed a lot differently than she is used to, cleaned up so that he looks suitable for the occasion.

He is running about, taking care of the various guests and students, and as she watches him, she finds her mind wandering, recalling something the gatekeeper told her, about the Goddess Tower. She has thought about inviting him up there plenty of times since then, but never thought the moment was right, always thought that it might be a little too far, even though she has no idea how far she should even go, if she wants to make progress with him.

Now she finds herself thinking about it more and more. Allegedly, if two people go to the Goddess Tower together and make a vow, then it is commonly believed that they will always remain together. When she thinks about something like that, the only person that comes to mind is Cyril. She watches him from across the room, waiting for him to come closer, wondering if she should ask him now if he wants to go somewhere with her, so that the two of them can talk. It seems so simple, just to ask him to follow her somewhere, if he can take a break.

Finally, he comes around, and the first thing Byleth says is, “Are you able to take a break?”

“I could but I’m just tryin’ to keep a good eye on the guests, in case anyone needs anything,” he replies, diligent as ever. “How come?”

“I just wanted to see if you would follow me somewhere,” she replies. “Just for a little while. Everyone else is caught up dancing, I thought you could step away for a little while.”

Cyril hesitates. “I don’t know, I mean…”

“You know you won’t get into any trouble for stepping outside to get some fresh air,” she says, lying just a little bit about her intentions. But that is enough to get him to agree, and to come outside with her, where she can then say, “Will you come somewhere with me?”

“Where are we going? I thought we were just coming outside for a bit,” Cyril says, but that does not stop him from following after Byleth, even when she doesn’t answer. The closer they get, the easier it is for him to guess their destination, before he stops and says, “We’re not supposed to go up there.”

“I know, but what about the legend?” she asks. “You know a lot of people go there, and they don’t really get in trouble for it.”

“Yeah, but I ain’t a noble or anything like that, and if I got in trouble for something like that, it would be a lot more severe,” he tries to argue. “Besides, what would Lady Rhea think if-”

“Would you rather come up here with her?” She does not know what comes over her, to make her ask something like that, but it is out before she can stop herself, and Cyril looks up at her, confused.

“Why would you ask somethin’ like that? And…and come to think of it, why do you want me to come with ya to begin with?” He looks at her intently, waiting for an answer, but Byleth says nothing. “Professor, if you wanted to make a promise with me or somethin’, we could have done that anytime, we don’t have to sneak off anywhere. That kind of stuff is just for…” He trails off, as if he can’t bring himself to say the word _lovers_.

And Byleth can’t bring herself to explain why it is so important to her. He must know by now, but if he knows, then he would want to go with her, if he felt the same. He wouldn’t say all these things about just making a promise anywhere, when he understands that she wants to make that special vow with him.

Instead of saying any of that, she says, “Then let’s make a promise, right now. I promise to keep teaching you, until there is nothing left for you to learn.”

He looks confused again, at how quickly she moves on to that. “Alright, then, uh…what should I say?”

“You should promise that, even when I don’t have anything to teach you, that you’ll still stay at my side.” This is the closest that she has gotten to confessing her feelings, and she realizes now just how painfully slow her pace is, just how long it is taking to get anywhere with him. She wants to rush things here and now, wants to pull him in for some wild and passionate kiss like she has read about, but she is hardly the passionate kissing type, she understands.

“I…I mean, I guess I will, I don’t have to…I don’t have to go anywhere just cos you’re not teachin’ me anymore. If you’re still at the monastery, I’m always gonna be here too.”

But that isn’t what she wants to hear. She wants him to want to come with her anywhere, wants him to want to leave the church if she so much as asks. Byleth has never come around to trusting the archbishop he adores, has never been able to accept the church that her father has warned her about from the beginning. But she knows, if she were to ask Cyril right now to choose her, that he would not.

She knows that, despite everything she has done so far to win him over, that she is still so far from making him her own, and so she says nothing beyond thanking him for his time, and suggesting the two get back to the ball.

~X~

When Cyril comes to her door, Byleth considers sending him away like she has everyone else. She has not felt like seeing anyone or talking to anyone, not felt like doing anything at all. This is the first time in her life that she has experienced loss like this, that she has hurt like this. No matter how many times she tried to save him, there was nothing that she could do, and her father is dead, and she feels like she hardly even knew the man. There were so many questions she needed answers, so many things that they were supposed to do, so how can she be expected to-

“You at least need to eat somethin’,” Cyril mumbles from outside her door. “I can get ya food if you don’t wanna go out there.”

Cyril.

How could she have ever considered turning him away? Cyril is one of the most important people in her life, Cyril is the one that she loves. And now he is here because he is concerned for her, wanting to help her, not out of any sense of obligation, but out of the goodness of his heart. It seems like years ago that she thought she had completely failed with him at the ball, but the ball was only a week ago, just before she lost…

But if Cyril is here now, then she did not fail.

Byleth rises, opening the door. She can tell by the way that Cyril gawks at her that she does not look good, but she can’t even bring herself to be self-conscious as she says, “Please, come in.”

“Are ya sure? I don’t wanna intrude, we’re just all real worried about you,” he says, but as Byleth stands back to let him in, he eventually obliges, and follows her into her room. She closes the door behind her, so glad to have someone here with her. For so long, all she has been able to think about is how much she wants to be left alone, but now that Cyril is here, she understands that what she really needed was for him to come check on her. She needed to see him specifically.

“I’m not hungry,” she says, remembering that he asked if she wanted him to bring her food. “I just want someone here with me. Do you want a reading lesson?”

“Huh? No, why would…you don’t look like ya really wanna…”

“I just want to be with you,” she says, and once she says it, she realizes the phrasing there, but she does not correct herself. “If that means lessons, or anything, I just want…you promised you’d stay with me either way, didn’t you?”

“Professor, are you sure you’re feelin’ alright?” Cyril moves back a bit, like he is trying to go for the door again. Byleth is not going to let him leave, not when she needs him, not when he is right here with her. She has let things progress too slowly for too long.

What better time than now? He feels bad for her, he wants to comfort her, he wants to help her. If he really wants to help her, then he should just give her what she wants, most of all. They don’t need anyone else, and even if he does not realize that now, she knows, in time, she can convince him of that, and when it is just the two of them, neither of them can get hurt, Byleth will never hurt like this again.

She leans down to kiss him, wrapping her arms tight around him so that he can’t pull away, even when he resists her. Byleth has never actually kissed someone before, and she is sure that she is doing it wrong, sure that it should not feel this awkward. She tries to remember everything she has read, relaxing into it as much as she can, but there is not much she can do when Cyril is resisting her, not even trying to learn as he goes.

When she pulls back, he asks, “What was…what was _that_ for?”

“Cyril, you have to know what’s going on by now. The two of us…we’re a lot more than just a student and teacher, and a lot more than just friends. You know that, don’t you?”

“Professor, I…I dunno what you’re sayin’, I just…I thought we were just…”

“I see how you look at me during our tea parties,” she says, recalling the way he blushes as his gaze drops. “You look at me when I lean across the table, I’m not blind. You’ve made it pretty obvious that you think I’m attractive…don’t you, Cyril?”

“I…”

“Don’t try and lie to me, I’m your teacher. I know when you’re lying.” Even as she speaks, she has no idea what has come over her, making her sound so sure of herself.

“I didn’t…I mean, I was never…” Now, in contrast to her, he does not sound very sure of himself at all.

“It’s alright, it’s fine. I know how you feel about me, and I feel the same way. I’ve been trying to let you know for a long time, but the time never seems right,” she goes on. “You got shy at the ball, didn’t you? That’s why you wouldn’t go to the tower with me, even though you really wanted to.”

“Didn’t want to break any rules-”

“That did make for a good excuse, didn’t it, Cyril?” He has nothing to say for himself, so she continues. “I can tell how you feel about me, and that’s why you came to check on me, even though my other students have tried. I wouldn’t even come out for Edelgard, but you hoped I would come out for you. You hoped you were my favorite, because of your feelings for me.”

“I…”

“I wanted to be your favorite too, Cyril. I’ve been trying so hard, and I’m so happy that you feel the same way,” she murmurs, and this time, she pulls him along with her, so that they can sit on her bed. He looks so bewildered by all of her attention, even though he shouldn’t, because this must be what he wants as well. This must be why he came here, and she pulls him close, letting him rest his face against her chest as she runs a hand through his hair.

He seems to have given up on trying to say anything now, which is good. He needs to learn that it’s okay to be open about his feelings with her, and needs to stop trying to lie to her just because he is feeling shy in the moment. He has nothing to be shy about now that Byleth has shown him that she loves him just as much as he loves her.

And he must love her, he has to. She knows that they have not made a lot of progress, and that he still clings to Rhea at times, and that he still thinks that the church can do no wrong, but he must love her, even despite all of that, and if he loves her, then she knows that there is always hope. She just has to make him see that those things are not as important, has to make him more afraid of losing her than anything else, has to convince him that their relationship is special, and that he has to stay with her, that no one else will ever want him like she wants him.

Byleth has to make sure that no one _will_ want him, not by the time that she is done with him. Before he realizes what is happening, Cyril is on his back, and Byleth is on top of him, working to pull off his pants. He does try to kick and resist, at least for a little while, but, as strong as he may be, his strength is nothing in comparison to Byleth, and he could never seriously try to hurt her. Another sign that he loves her, because if he did not, and if he did not want to be here, he would not be afraid to go all out to try and escape.

He loves her, he’s just young and overwhelmed by how fast everything is going, but Byleth will show him that he has nothing to worry about.

“I’ve never done this before, have you?” she asks, and he shakes his head, not able to meet her eye.

“You don’t have to lie to me. If Rhea has made you do it, then I won’t be mad at you.” The thought comes to her in the moment, almost definitely irrational, but she says it anyway. She finds herself doubting him, even though he has no reason to lie to her about that.

“Lady…Lady Rhea would never-”

“But she would, Cyril, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me she did,” Byleth replies, as she takes hold of his cock, trying to remember how she is supposed to move her hand, how she is supposed to grip without hurting him. She can feel him growing stiff under her touch, so she hopes that means that she is doing this right. “She wants to, if she hasn’t yet.”

“No, she doesn’t, she wouldn’t…”

“Oh, Cyril, that’s exactly what she wants. That’s always been what she wanted, she’s been trying to make you fall in love with her, so she could trick you into it,” she tells him. It does hurt a bit, to reveal the horrible truth, and there is a part of her that worries he might misunderstand and assume that she is doing the same thing, even though her feelings are far more genuine. But it is necessary that he knows the truth about the woman he thinks he loves, Byleth’s competition. Which reminds her…

“What about Shamir? Has she made you do this?” she asks, and his eyes widen.

“Why would she…no! No, she hasn’t, no one has, I never…I never…not till now!” he cries. “The only one makin’ me do stuff is…is _you_!”

“Only me?” she asks, and he nods weakly. There are tears in his eyes, probably because he is getting a little too excited, having too much fun. “That’s good, Cyril. That’s good, because I really do love you, so you know I’m not doing it to try and use you or trick you. And it’s good because you want it, see?”

“But I…”

“Please don’t try and lie to me, Cyril, you really don’t need to,” she replies, as she leans over his erection. “Look how turned on you are, just from me touching you. I bet you wouldn’t get this excited for either of them, so it’s good that it’s only me. I’m the one you love, but you already know that.”

“Professor…”

“Don’t call me that anymore.”

“Byleth, I don’t…” he whimpers, but she is tired of listening to him make excuses. He doesn’t need to make excuses, because she isn’t mad that he wants this and isn’t mad that he wants her. She wishes he could just wrap his head around that, but instead, she decides to silence him, by making him whimper for her as she wraps her lips around his cock.

Cyril is not able to say anything after that, which is exactly what she wants. As much as she loves listening to him talk, she knows that for now, he needs to stop talking and stop overthinking so much, so that he can accept that his feelings are not unrequited, that Byleth understands, and loves him just as much as he loves her. Once that is over, then they can really make some progress.

It all feels right, after all these months of working so hard to get to this point. Her favorite student, the most diligent and hard working boy that she has ever known, is right here with her, and he is only hers. She will make sure that he remains hers, that he understands no one else will want him after this, and that he can’t trust any of them anyway, because she is the one who loves him. Her thoughts are all spinning around in her head, and she gets a bit ahead of herself, but she can’t help it, not when she is so excited.

At last, Cyril is hers, and she is never letting him go.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested in my writing updates, please follow my fanfiction twitter @WattStalf


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